Scripture: Isaiah 53 v 4: "Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."
1 Corinthians 2 v 13 - 15: "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man."
One thing that is trending everywhere these days is fake news, or fake everything really. Wrong perceptions are being fuelled by a never ending stream of manufactured information, and sifting truth out of this swamp is an onerous task.
Until we learn and understand what the Holy Spirit teaches us about spiritual matters in our newly awakened spirits, we make assessments based on our natural, or carnal, experience, and we are mostly wrong! The Spirit of God working through us is very different to how our carnal mind perceives situations.
In Isaiah 53 is the prophecy of the crucifixion of Jesus and in the verse above He took upon Himself willingly all our hurts, grief and sorrow. Those who crucified Him believed Him to be sinner worthy of death under Jewish and Roman law. He was no-one special to them as the Romans had crucified about 2 million people by then. They did not know the meaning of the word, Messiah.
We likewise judge those who are going through hard times and suffering, to have God's wrath upon them! Many times the struggle they are having is on behalf of others they are praying for. Romans 15 v1 says we who are strong must bear the burdens of the weak. In bearing those burdens we sometimes sag under the weight and are judged unfairly as being punished for some sin.
People may also appear afflicted when they are being released from bondage as the demons leave. Some demons have to be removed slowly because of an ancestral curse so the person seems to have many long afflictions. People who have been deeply involved in the occult or satanic practices need to be aware of this.
I call this spiritual illness "out-flew-enza"! Influenza means influence so when that influence over a person is bound and cast out it exhibits similar symptoms. Basically, when Jesus released me from some bondages my body ached liked I had flu. My nose ran and I coughed up phlegm. I found out later that the phlegm was the nest a demon lived in. When it was over, it could not return as its nest was gone.
When demons leave your soul and body they manifest their nature on their way out. If you were subject to rages and tantrums, there will probably be a big rage episode when it finally departs. It (the demon) is furious that it is being sent back to Hell and that it has lost its grip on you. It faces dire punishment for failure to carry out Satan's will.
The peace and calm within you after it leaves will be with you forever. Just give all praise and glory to Jesus for setting you free. It is His perfect answer to Anger Management. We may wrongly perceive that final tantrum as a person full of angry rage, and not realise an enemy has left the building.
Seek God's face for answers as to why people are afflicted before you make a false judgment or wrong perception. You may be surprised at what He reveals and how He leads you to pray. When you are baptized in the Holy Spirit you receive gifts that help you perceive correctly.
The "word of knowledge" is when you need insight into someone's problems who has turned to you for help. The Holy Spirit drops a single word into your mind that not all the books of psychology or wisdom can give you. It happened to me. The lady in front of me was in mental anguish but could not tell me. The Holy Spirit dropped the word "rape" into my mind.
I could not blurt that out to her, so the Holy Spirit gave me a "word of wisdom" on how to approach her. I just had to ask her about her relationships with men in general. Of course He was also working on her and within a short time she was sharing the awful experience she had borne for over thirty years. Jesus set her completely free of those terrible memories and the fear that had hindered her proper enjoyment of life.
She had trust issues and pushed people away until Jesus turned her life around in a beautiful way. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are there to help us and build us up to be able to help others who are bound with fear and tormented souls. Years of therapy with little victory can change to instant relief when our Creator touches our lives with His power through His people being obedient.
So let us turn from wrong perceptions to true spiritual ministry, from trying to assess people through unenlightened carnal minds, rather allowing the pure truth of God to bring miracle healing to each one who is part of the Body of His Son.
The Lord often shows me demonic things in names: names of people, countries, organisations, issues and causes. The reason is that it says in Philippians 2 v 9 - 10: "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;"
If the name of Jesus is above every name, then the wily enemy will try to turn every name to his evil purpose. It does not mean that the people or places are bad or evil but that Satan has twisted his demons into those names to use and abuse humans. Through the gift of discerning of spirits the Lord shows me hidden things in names that can unlock ancestral curses.
The very first person I was praying for in this way, was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Her name was Isabella. The Lord said put a D for demon in front of that name and speak it aloud. DISABELLA. When I spoke it I heard Disable her! So I prayed to disable the demon and set her free. Oh the glory of the Lord when she was set free.
Another occasion a lady was on her way to me for ministry. The Lord said to me her initials are KKK, and its significant. Klu Klux Klan. When she arrived she told me her full name and the Lord was right on target.
When I prayed for her she died! No pulse, no breath, blue round mouth, gone. I was in shock. Stopped praying and she breathed again, perfectly okay. Prayed, she died, stopped she breathed. Three times. The Lord said three generations ago a family member of hers was in the KKK in America. He was part of a group that lynched an African American for the rape and murder of a young white girl.
His mother consulted a Voodoo Witch and four voodoo dolls were made one for each KKK member involved. The Lord said there is a history of violent deaths in all these families to the present day. I asked her about this and she said it was true. The most recent being her uncle who was electrocuted.
The Lord said I must reverse the death curses coming from those four voodoo dolls and change it to a blessing. So I did that and she fell into a peaceful sleep for about 15 minutes. When she awoke she said she had never felt so free and calm in her whole life. Jesus is real and His victories are real. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are real.
If I had used my own understanding the ladies concerned would not have had this victory. My wrong perceptions would have blocked the power of the Holy Spirit. The Lord has often given me strange things to do to bring about miracles. It's not always well received and their unbelief prolongs the pain. It's hard to observe unnecessary suffering but free will cannot be ignored.
Matthew 13 v 57 - 58: "And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, as You carried our burdens so must we learn to help those who are struggling. Change the way we think about them, blot out our wrong perceptions, so we can be more like You. Let us wisely use the precious gifts You have given us so we can discern correctly the way You do and teach others. Freely we have received and must freely give. In Jesus' name. Amen.